Targeted attacks: Prayer leader shot dead inside mosque

Habibur Rehman was chairperson of the Pakistan Ulema Council’s Karachi chapter

KARACHI: A prayer leader and an employee of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) were shot dead in separate incidents in District East of the city on Tuesday.

The prayer leader, 42-year-old Maulana Habibur Rehman, was shot dead inside Siddiq-e-Akbar Masjid in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

The incident occurred when Rehman was sitting in his office within the premises of the mosque after Zuhr prayers.

Police said at least two unidentified men riding a motorcycle had reached the mosque and one of them went inside the office. "The suspect asked Rehman for a nikkah registration form from the office's window, after which the victim allowed him to come inside," said DSP Nasir Lodhi. "The man then fired at least twice and one bullet hit the victim's chest." The armed men then escaped, he added.



Rehman was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The police later arrested a young man, identified as Mairaj, after the prayer leader's minor son identified him. According to the police, Mairaj used to live in the same area and was a frequent visitor to the mosque. However, the police added that they are still investigating the case.



The victim belonged to Punjab and was a father of three. He had been serving as the prayer leader at the same mosque for the last 15 years. A case has yet to be registered.

Suparco employee shot dead

Hours after the killing of the prayer leader, another firing incident occurred in the same district, in which a driver of Suparco was killed and a security guard was wounded. An alleged robber was also wounded in the incident.

The deceased and injured employees were taken to Liaquat National Hospital, where the former was identified as Muhammad Idrees and the latter as Faisal Abbas. SHO Ganwer Maher said both were employees of Suparco and were injured during firing by two unidentified men riding a motorcycle.

The officer said the incident occurred when the two employees resisted a robbery attempt near Dow Hospital on Suparco Road within the limits of the Mobina Town police station. He further said that an accused, Ali Asad, was also hurt when the injured security guard retaliated. The injured robber was later arrested and admitted to JPMC under police custody. Police also claim to have recovered a pistol from his possession. Meanwhile, his companion managed to escape from the scene.

SHO Maher said that the incident occurred when the victims, after withdrawing cash from a bank on Sharae Faisal, were on their way to Suparco office as the culprits had been following them and attempted to snatch the cash.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2016.